The Sun. — London, England, 1810-02-13 00:00:00

hundred ; in fait, we sent, I btAlere, in about a week after bt-t‘.veen six and seven hundred. on imagine. that there would' have been any difficulty in procuring a considerable amount of trans ports earlier in the spring, It timely notice had,been given ?—We found difficulty earlier in the spring, and under the direction of the Government we were constrained to -raise the price from twenty-one shil lings per ton .to twenty-five shiliingi, previous to ti; is expedition, or the service of Spain and Portugal. Do you imagine that the transports were procured in conseu -nee of that increase of price ?—Most undoubtedly. Would not increase of price probably have had the same effect,at an earlier period ?—lt was in con setlu.!nce of tfre scarcity of ships they did not offer. The prices for transports ale fixed. No!ice is given when they are wanted; and tew or no ships offered at the reguNed price.- The price fixed - for ships nntler the direCtion of the Treasury of seventeen ;11,11ino a ton for single. bottomed ships, twenty shil liOgs a ton for ships sheathed with wood, and twenty one shillings forships sheathed with copper. Have not those prices been contiqually varied ? The regular prices, havegone on pi ogresSively since the time I first became Chairman of the Transport Board, and 'have inceased from.tbirreen shillings a ton (the regular pride in the'year 1795) to the price that I have just now mentioned, which in fact is the regular price now. , Du you imagine that it would have been impos sible to have procured transports in the spring if a sufficient price had. been . offefed ?--Most undoubt edly Lou may have all the ships in England if you go to the price: if the price is large enough, ships may give up their engagements and other views to come into the King's service, if that is more advan tageOus Than the regular-tyade.' What difference in the price do youthink would` have procured any , very great additional number of transports ?—I must beg leave to observe upon tlis subject I had many conversations, and I believe that my opinion in some ,measure decided the case.— When we have transports in the service,, many of them the first coppered . ships in England, if they are paid at a guinea and others are paid at thirty or thirty : - five or forty shillingsilt produces great discontent, which perhaps does more injury to the service than the ships you would get at an increased price bene fit, this was not only my opinion, but the opinion of the Board, where there are some very experi - eticed seamen. In point of fad, you think a greater number of transports Could not have been taken up about the titit of May, Without Subjecting the public to a very great.addition to the price, or subjecting the trans port service to a great inconvenience ?—I do not think that any advantage could have accrued to the service by raising the price very thaterially, and I fre quently gave that as my opinion when called upon to increase the number of iranspurt3. About the 20th of May, had. not Lord Castle reagh a communication with you with respell to the transport arrangern rats, with reference to the en suing campaign ?—Certainly, frequently about that time, and almost every day after duriiig the time of the equipment, and I was told particularly that we were to provide infantry minsports for ten thousand men I believe cavalry to the extent, as nearly as I can recollect, for six thousand hoses ; the stores de pended upon the cis:in - ands hum thedieferent &part ments, the Ordnance, the Viclualling, and the other departments of Government. " About.that time was not there on hand at home applicable to service, about twenty 7 three.thousand tons of Iransports.i—l have already said, twenty thousand and upwards, and lbelieve it may be about twenty l three thous.,nd. Did not Lord CaStlereagh at that time go. with you into the consideration of What amount of ton nage .might -be drawn from. foreign service, appli— cable to the proposed service ?—Most undoubtedly, we entered into every particular : his Lordship had given directions, as I understood, to order home ships frorb.different foreign stations. Did not you understand. that upon the expulsion of the French from Portugal, it atpeared consistent wish the demands of the service in that quarter, to withdraw a considerable amount of tonnage from Portugal, and particularly cavalry tonnage, for three , thousand .horses do' not at this instant exactly recoiled the number, but I believe it May be about that number. Upon the whole, was not about forty-eight thou sand tons of transports withdrawn from foreign ser vice, as applicable to•the campaign at home be lieve full'to that extent. Were not the Instructions of the Secretary of State to yet], to use every endeavou'r to procure the additional tonnage, in addition to the twenty-three thousand tons on hand, and the tonnage expected from abroad, to carry on the service in question ? —They were, .and I consulted, with my colleagues at. - the Board. on the most el - canal means of pro curing sufficient tonnage, ner d they were of opinion , that-.raising-the 'price beyond twenty-five shillings would be produCtive of more injury than benefit to the Service, we engaged ships for six months cer tain, and in some. eases, for one year, rather than produce discontent among the owners of the , ships that were then in the service. Were not the exertions of . the Board and of the Government so unremitting, with a view to the pro curing a sufficient quantity of tonnage in the least possi.ble time, that the possibility of requiring the services of neutral ships in the river, was a subjea that received the tullest consideration, and-was only laid aside upon a conviction of the serious ohje&ions to such a lesource-65ing had recourse to ?---Finding that we could not .procure immediately sufficient tonnage, I suggested to the . Secretary of State, the propriety of taking into the service neutral ships, a r'reat many at that time being in the river: The _Secretary of State sent for me 'in the Charicellor of the Exchequer's house, a, dthis business was taken into full Consideration in my presence ? and it was finally determined, that it would not be proper to take them, as we could not hate them boluntarily, and they must be forced into . the service. - not you recollect' that a part ,of the cavalry tonnage which arrived from Poitugai, and which wt.; employed upon the"serviee in question, did not arrive at Po: tstriouth till the infantry ‘Aas aatually embarked ?—The cavalry, to the extent of ceir fire thouatid, were embatked a few days after the in fantry were embarked, and sailed With them, I think , about the 2.1t1r or 29th of July ; Ilhink the whole ailed about that lime. - Did not the whole amount o'f - horses embarked upon the expedition, consist nearly of six thousand? —Full that, I should thipk; some_ were embarked in, men of war ; I do not know the number. With every exertion that could be made, was not, it necessary ip,sciid about 360 horses of the batter ing train, within the next two'or three days after the expedition had sailed from the Downs ?--The batter ing train did nut sail all together, there were 3 or 400 that sailed after the others: In answer to &former gLestion, you stated that seven hundred horses of the battering train had em barke a week or ten days atter the rest of the ar mament ; I,presume you mean after .the first em barkation of the infantry at Portsmouth,-which was about .the 14th of the month i—The general ern 7 barkation, as I mentioned before, I. belieVe was 'zraOut the 15th or lt3th ; they. all took place toge ther, I should think ten or twelve days before the battering train, to the amdunt.of six or seven -bun dred, were ernharked; the battering train sailed in two division.% • Have you known on any former Occasion a greater exertion wade on the part of the country and the of ficers, to produce the necessary tonnage fur the ser % ice than on the late occasion ?—I certainly never did. Do not you recollect, that, exclusive of the de mands that were made upon' the traosport Board with a v:ew to this particular 3erv•ce, that butwttn the beginning of March and th , .: beginning of May, a corps of Infantry of about twenty thousand mcn, and several regiments' of cal alry, %%ere embarked for the servicein Portugal:--1 annot now. recol led .the number, but I know gr eat exertions had been made, and numbers of men, I do not know the numbers exa6lly at this ins'ant, had embarked for Spain and Portugal, in consequence of which the price, as I have already mentioned, had been raised to 2i,s. from the regular price of transports, to-pro vide-conveyance tor them. _ _ -1 • Was not . it the 'deliberate l opinidn of the• rans portAvard, that no ivcre.ise of pike beyond thit which was °flexed, could be pi udeutiiiity offered, with the view to the general interest; of the public service was, ,and if the Transport Board had recommended a higher price, I think it likely that Government would have authorized tlietn to give it. Considering the geiieral arrangements neces r sary for this expedition on the pit of th Transport Board, are you of opinion. that the amount of force employed could have been sent , on sovico earlier than it aacally was ?—I am convinced it could iiot. Do you, consider that it was possible to obtain forty or.tifty thousand tons of shippiogat the price of twenty-five shillings per ton w intt montit. of March, in addition to the twenty-three thousand which you have stated you bad ?—I do not think we could- have had fort} , or ,fifty thousand tons at that price in the month of 'March. Are you of opinion that in the month of March, any, and wilat aziditiou to that price would have procured them ant of opinion that as you' raise the price, you may get ships, to what extent I cati not say, but the ground on which we objected to raising.the price was; that it would prodUce great discontent among-the owners of ships ahead) , in the service ; and if we got five or six or ten thou , 4and tons, it miglit not be good policy to take them under those circumstances. . Had you in fact any communication with his Ma jesty's, Minister; as to ihe increasing the number of tontiagelor transports earlier than the .::uth of May? —Yes, in consequence of which we raised the price to 255. as I have already mentioned, from a guinea : previous to the 2uth of May we had many .ships in the service at 2.5, taken pp in consequence of orders twin the Secretary of State, for the Pur tugal and Spanish service. . . _ _ Had not7Lord Castlereagh coMmunicatio . with you respe.ding the Medical airangemews for the army on this service, so tar as the Transport Board is connected !with Ahem ?—We had_frequent com munications, even several, times in a day, twice, thrice, or oftener in a day, either with Lord•Cas tlereagh or the Under Secretary, concerning the providing shipping (or the different departments of Government. . • Was not the proportion of hospital ships that should attend the Expedition ,considered ; and was it not•in contemplation .that from the propinquity of the service, the sick might be removed in transports that carried troops to the hospital in England, and did you not understand.. that that was •-a principal service that was determined ,upon understand that the sick; were occasionally to be sent to Eng land ; the hospital ships and convalescent ships were. to the same extent that had been used in-.other Ex : peditions,. to Copenhagen, to Ole Textl, and even to distant parts of the world; the transports, as they returned from the • Scheldt, were ordered to be cleansed, fumigated, and provided with a double allowance of medical comfOrts, in order to bring" back . the sick, after we heard that they had so much increased. Was it not ,your opinion that the, ordinary trans ports that conveyed the troops, with an addition to the medical comforts that were in storewith the ex pedition, -were qualified to convey the sick back to England •to the .hospitals confess, if I could. have given them better accommodation I should have thought it my duty to do so, but the sick had increased so much that there was no possibility of providing hospital ships, for their conveyance to. Eng, land ; we - provided -some of the transports with hair-beds, which, with the t4dical comforts, we thought for so short ,a voyage might answer the purpose ; but the country could not.,have- furnished tonnage 'or hospital ships to the extent .that was re quired-within the time that was necessary. Major-Generaj CALVERT, Adjutant- General of the Army, was called in and examined by the Com- Were you at any tittle consulted with respeet to the expediency of an expedition to the . Selieldt, or the mode of conduCting it ?—I was; not in regard ,to the expediency of zu expedition to the Scheldt, btu in regard to the 'nude of conducting it. In regard to the-expediepey of an attack on Ant- Werp ?—On the mode of condutting it. . . By whom were you consulted ?—By the Com mander-in Cilia: • Did - You give an answer in writing did. Have you that answer with you ?—I have not ; I believe it is given in. [The opinion delivered by Gen. Calvert to the Commander in Chief, was r'ead.] Mem4andum delivered by the Adjutant-General to the Commander in Chief;, on the 3d June, isog, " The difficulties which would attend a d -barka tion of a corps of tie magnitude necessary for the performance of the 'service in question, on an open beach, and from thence comurencing so important an 'operation through a large trod of country, - whose natural strength has been augmented by all the sci ence and military skill of the last century, have been so _ably and so decisively stated, That I aPpreh,nd it remains only to consider ,o 1 the possib;lity of the same se / I , : ice being effected by a conjunct operation of the Navy and Army; and in this case the Hondt or West Scheldt naturally presents - itself as the- chap-. nel through which must be condueted. " It is wholly impossible 16 enter upon any de tailed reasoning on this part of the .subject, without previously ascertaining to what extent local circum stances would permit of naval operation, which de-. pending on tides, sounding, and other points im mediately Connetted with 'that service, can only be learned by a communication with Officers of the nab. y. But by a general 'view-of the local, it would appear indispensably necessary to possess ourselves of the Southend, if not of the whole of the Island of . Walcheren and South Beveland ; and from thence with the aid of the navy, - ana an extens , ve eo mand of small craft, it Might, I conceive, _be possible to' land a body of troops at Sand competent to 'etn6t its march w Antwerp, and to the reduaion of Lillo and the other forts on the right bank of the Sciieldt. It must, -however, __be remarked, that the . citadel . of Antwerp is fermi dablerand the works of. the town itself such as would demand regular approaches, and:a train of artillery, which could not be transported without mudh time and labonr, unless we could secure the navigation of the Scheldt, which could only be as sured by ,the possession of the torts, on the left as well as on the right bank of the 'river. From the moment our fleet and army appeared of Walcheren, the enemy mint necetsarify be apprised of the ;ob i9a of the enterprize ; and having once ascertained how large a portion - of our - disposable JUrce was en gaged in it, he would be at liberty to concentrate all his means of defence, which would be facilitated by the canals el the country, and the general course of the rivers. " Having 'no data to gu, on, in respect to the ene my's force, no argument can be entered on that point; but it may be presumed, that on such an occasion he would • tint heSitate immediately to draw all his troops Itom' the fortresses of Flolland, the Netherlands, and French, Flanders,. and trorn.More remote quarters, it he had sutlit:ient . time for the purj)ose. The•service WOuld lie ardildns," 'a n d the troops employed on it must unavoidably be exposed to consideralile risk ; but I' huinbly Conceive the operation, : in this voint 'of view, does not present the same insverable dittiCulties - , which I must be or opithon, v.outd attend 311 attempt -to perform the' same 'service "bya debarkation at or in the vi cinily of Ostend, -and . by a movement troin thence to the point - of attpok. (Sigurd) " H. CALYERT." What was the state of the forttfications at Ant werp in the year i 704, which lel] within your knowledge ?—The defect that appeared to meat that time was the great extent of the works, and many of them not being in a good state of repair ; the Citadel i, detached florn the town, 'and presents a much more formidable defence than the town does, but I by no means feel myself competent to give a decided opinion upon that subject, as it was merely in occasional visits to the town when the artily was in that neighbourhood thatl had an op portunity of making my observation upon it. At that time was the town regularly fortified, and could it only have been taken by a regular siege ? That was a matterof opinion that probably officers versed in tho kind of service would be called Upon fo'give an opinion upon; I .io not knoW that, visit ing the town only two or threetimes, I am compe teut to give art opinion. 'Did you consider it a fortress ?—Undoubtedly. That the citadel was a regular work ?—The cita del to the best 'of my opinion was a regUlar work. Do, you consider it a - matter of notoriety that the works had been augmented since that period?—.l have understood so from conversation with persons that came from that country, that since the French have been in possession of it, they have repaired the wOrks. You having stated that you were in Antwerp in 1794, did you happen to know whether the "pro vince of Zealand, and especially the isrind of Wal cheren, was unhealthy ..in the latter end of the summer and the autumn. .It was generally report.; ed so to be. - Did you cons;der it as a matter of notoriety that the island . of Walcheren .was an unhealthy situation for soldiers at that period of the year at the time you gave the opinion' which has been read ?—The healthiness or unhealthiness of the island of Walehe ten certainly had ao influence upon that opiniorYone way or other, it was merely a military question. Was it within your knowledge at that period, that - that • island was unhealthy for soldiers ?—Cer tairely., When you gave that opinioil, (lid you take into your consideration the means of transporting *artil lery from Santvliet to Antwerp ?—I did; and con ceived it to afford one of the greatest difficulties of the service. 'Do you think it would have been possible, by any means, to have conveyed an army adequate to the siege Of Antwerp, with the ordnance requisite for that siege, from this country by Santvliet to Ant werp, without giving the, enemy considerable time for preparation ?—Certainly it would not be 'pos sible. Could the supplies and reinforcements be cut off from Antwerp, except by an army commanding both banks of the Scheldt ?—I apprehend not. You have sated thatsit would require a very large force to invest Antwerp; to what amount. do you suppose that force must be really thtnk-it hardly.possible . for a person to give an opmion,lupon- PRICE 0 YESTS Bank Stock, 2•?6k 2761 i lslnry s pet tent. 99)i Irish per Cent. 4 per Lent. 84 3 par Cent. Red. 63i 3 per . Cent. Con. 63 Bank I. Ann. a 9=t6thi4 LONDON t Printed by kICH A RD HA It IS, ot No, 4, Martlett.court, Low -street ; a nd Iscbli.illed by' WI LLIAM A RMI GER SCR: Sblitfi Moltoo.streei, Gro'venor ;cues. gthe SUN-OFFIcE, No. 112, Strand;, w r Lere Acivertisements, Orders forjhe Paper, Letters for_the Editor, tic.' (post-paia), thslst , be addressed . .: . . . . . such a subjea without having time . to c,,,risidr the situation (if the ;.laUe,.thp nature of its:re4rarce4, !he nature-of kts d. fence, and the nature of the country round it.- In order to invest Antwerp would it not be ne cessary to detabh corps to mask- Berge n •op-Z o om, and the other tortressei in that nei , hboornood I conLeive it . world. Can you foun any opinion what the amount of those detachments must be I—lt must entirely ri.,1;^... pen& upon the force that the enemy had i n those garri,ous. ' Supposing these fortresses to be competently gar iioned ?-=LBergen-op . -Zoom i!sel f if compet,ently gar risorktl,l believe wiatld require 6006 or 7001 i the lines from Bet ,en'-op- Zoom to Steenbergert might be calculated- to hold 10 . ,0oCti _including the garrison of Berg/en- l op-Zoom. - Was nut it in point • ld lAA -round that several 0 1 the rrginients coull not be ready for service as soort as the 'nth of Julie, and that the equipment Some of them rettlained incomplete till the end of that month ?-I,l::ere were several regiments, parti cularly second bitttalions, repotted unfit for service as late as the result of the Inquiry of the 23d of May. . . . In your-opinion, did the state.of the army admit of its hying eallivr sent upon service ?—I rcally con• ceived the loth ,of June to be as early a day. a; the main body of ttie army could be considered fit ,for active service. . Have'you not, known places more respeolabie its their defences than Antwerp that have been rer-i, duced by au artny' with adequate means appearing before them, .1 ithout the necessity of undethiking a siege of a more regular description ?—I conceive a fortress Cannfiti be taken, without treachery, with out a siege. - - Have not fortresses been reduCied by bornbod nient ?—A bombardment - implies some' degree of siege; but I should suppose a very extensive for— tress, .if it is defended as_it ought to be, should floc suirender from a bombardment; Was not tho fortress of Copt , riliagen reduced a bornbardn;tetit of three days, and was not Copenl hagen a place more respectab'e iu its'defencesithatt Antwerp was when you knspeCted. the work?-- 4 really do not feel competent .to answer that ques tion; I . do not kndW sufficient of -the defences di Copenhagen to say . what they were.- . Do you recollect that Antwerp, including, ale citadel, was reduced -or surrendered; aithoug - ii dt tended by an Ausirkin gatrison;to the army of patriots , in the -year 17go know it as 3 fact, without -knowing- any of the Circumstakei connected h it. From the local knowledge you . acquired of Arttt. werp in the y'ear 1794, do you think it - was eitliec_. probable or possible to take it .by a coup de Wain ?•;-'• I do not 'think it probable such a tortress could be taken by a coup de main, the works being very i!x; , . tensive s I not say it Was impossible, bu,t shoUld think. it very improbable. Night nut the terror or a bombardment in a city so_populous as,Antwerp; Where the inhabitants coal be supposed not well affected to the French govg1 11 :. meat, and the garrison not of regular- tr,,ops, but armed burghers, ha'e produced a sulre . lider Oiffel eat from what would be expvct,d flora a fortress v. itli a smaller ; population, with.' a garrison- o 1 regul 3 e troops ?-1. beg to state that the answers I have given have been. in a military point of - %levy, when I have been asked questions as to the place salter) by, a bombardment; certainly in a military point of view, a fortress should not surrender vn bombardment ; lAA if you put the case of a rich , and populous town, such as Copenhagen; it, is not merely a military question, but a political one. Have you any reason to believe that the infiabi - • rants of Antwerp were ill a ffect e d - to the Goviern4 meat of Bonaparte•?—No fari her than I should sup pose all inhabitants of towns of that kind would ill affected to his Government. [Colonel Gordon's And Sir IT. Popham's £ ]aminati;.n to.* morro w.i - The Theatre of Havre de Grace was burnt (lowa in the night bet'ween the 28th aid 2pt It' ult.. To-morrow will make rich many, Who . to : &Ivy 'are poor !—The purchase of a Ticket or - Share an tl , a_ Lottery is' a. duty which every man w'hu can spare the means owes to himself and family. A Capitol Prize is a relief 40 the unfortunate, and a reward to the industrious. SWIFT and Co.'s Offices have beef) remarkably fortunate to those who have pnr , chase4 Tickets and Shares in former Lotteries, therefore it is fair to 'presume that the usual good_ luck will. at tend their Offices in'To-morrow's.Draiving. S IP NA WS . GRAVESEND, FEBRUARY If. Arrived—the Queen; ilillyer , from. Lisbon; Martiar 'Bund, from Martinique; Diamond, More,- from Seviile J and the Mary, Daverd, from Curacoa. Sailed—the Surry, Newcomb, for New Providence ; kers, Irelatid, for Martinique; Maria Dorothy, Antlienff for Africa ; and ,the Better Luck Still, Potter, for Mob's dore. BIRTH. On Wednesday last, at Portsmouth, the Lady of Capta Matthew Buckle, of the Royal Navy, of a llautpter; MARRIED. , • On Tuesday last, at Leiston, Edward, Fuller, Esq. 01 Carlton-Hall, Suffolk, to Miss Tatnall, daughter of Wil , " Liam Taman, Esq. of Leiston Old Abbey, in the same County. 7 On Thursday last, at Mary-le-bonne Church, ThomaS , Prince, jun. Esq. of the Island of lamaica, to Mrs.,/ iO- ." cock; "widow of the late Captain ,l'ococke. . . DIED. • On Wednesday evening the 31st ult. at Cransby, in the County of Northampton, aged 28, Catherine. wife of lohn Lapel Rose, Esq and eldest daughter of the late Williarn Symons, Esq. of Bury St. Edmund's. - On Tuesday last, at Darlington, Mr, John. Morris, in th" 7'9o.year of his age. (yri the ad hiss. at Chesterford, near Canibridge, aged 2it Harriet, wife of Henry Fynes, Esq M. P.. Yesterday sesnnight, Mrs. Rix, of Dulwich. STOCKS RDAY.. India Stock. 186 ; India Bonds, Excheq. Bil is, ss. los. pt,. Onnlittin, • ' Imperial Atm.. Com. for 27E311115t. 63 4.•. `~_-- ~---..~ I q 7 lll] ` 'V c, "Nt U I ~ Aa 1• ;Sir 11 0xes 4 s• (;, i; 4 11'41 c , • . , ~ertl r,..nt Pell; :IL ~, "%{der -Mho :41 )7:l3it\rtc;eelcrocii (1'144:4 i to Ot tlv ' rho . 1 lie iftb rd • l i t e'co e ; ltss ,erf cti 14 r1li; titiu 4 I 1 1 _. Yu; "n it wj s the' Pbri 0 , ne e lard yeiv c 11 'ttt :o n k. 1. I la li4ve t kuie, .I\ l l itirn ~~ l ttf 11 I+, { t. Nu, ~h~'St ' I 11,17.1, ) ': :Aalibm.: l/ ' ' 1 ~ ~ 1 't T N ' 4 : - --- S tFrPCI rirjr U.l